Half a century of “Curse Upon Iron”

It has been 50 years since the premiere of one of Veljo Tormis's masterpieces “Curse Upon Iron”. The event took place on May 6, 1973 in Tartu, at a concert “Folk Music in Veljo Tormis's Works”, where the performer was Tallinn Chamber Choir under the direction of Arvo Ratassepp.

Mimi Daitz's Book Presentation In Tartu

On Saturday, April 15 at 17:00, Mimi Daitz's book presentation discussion will take place in Tartu as part of the Tartu Day of the Estonian Society of Music Studies. Jaan Ross will have a virtual conversation with the author.

In Memoriam: Olev Oja

Sad news. Olev Oja, who premiered more than 40 works by Veljo Tormis in the 60s and 70s, has passed away. They had a good connection.

Koit Soasepp and Mati Turi Received Estonian Theatre Annual Awards

Koit Soasepp and Mati Turi received the annual prize of the Estonian Theater Awards for their performance in Veljo Tormis and Rasmus Puur's opera "Lalli, or a man in the middle of the sea".

A new edition of Mimi S. Daitz's book has been published

"Ancient Song Recovered: The Life And Music Of Veljo Tormis"

"Women's Ballads" Premiere

On February 3, the premiere of "Women's Ballads" with a dedication to Veljo Tormis's cantata-ballet "Estonian Ballads". Musicians and dancers together embarked on an electronic, chamber and improvisational journey along the paths of dark Estonian regula songs set with the might of Tormis.

Ingrid Roose Conducts Veljo Tormis' "Forgotten Peoples" in Paris

On March 14, conductor Ingrid Roose brings Veljo Tormis' “Forgotten Peoples” to the Paris Philharmonic concert hall.

The Veljo Tormis Cultural Society Established in Kuusalu 25 Years Ago

The Veljo Tormis Cultural Society's 25th birthday concert was held in December at Kuusalu church with the Kolga-Kuusalu choir and youth choir.

New Album Release With Tormis' Music

VHK String Orchestra released an album featuring Tormis' compositions. Photo: Kirill Gvozdev

Janne Fridolin On How Admiration Arose For Tormis' Compositions

Conductor Janne Fridolin gave an interview on Vikerraadio explaining how her admiration for traditional Finno-Ugric culture and the work of Veljo Tormis arose.

Recent Interview with Lea Tormis

Postimees published a recent interview with theater researcher and critic Lea Tormis.

Stout Choirs Present "To Freedom" (YouTube Premiere)

Join us in watching the concert recording of "To Freedom: Choral Music from Ukraine, Poland, and Estonia"!

Tormis' Music Performed at "To Freedom" Concert in New York

UW-Stout choirs join to sing Estonian, Ukrainian, and Polish songs on December 3 at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church in New York.

Add Your Concerts In The Events Calendar!

The Centre opened an events page where every singer, choir conductor, and event manager can add events related to Veljo Tormis and share them with a wider audience directly from the website. Since November 2021, the development partner of the Veljo Tormise Virtual Centre is an Estonian company with an international reach - Thorgate. The future development plans of the Centre are ambitious. "While building the Veljo Tormis Virtual Centre, we are developing a reusable component, which is can be used by other authors as well from various fields to make their work adequately findable", the Thorgate key customer manager Karl Õkva explains in an interview with Klassikararadio. "Currently, virtual museums are mostly available in big museums such as the Louvre and MoMA, but why not start the trend of author's virtual museums as well? With advanced technology, it is possible to virtually experience different mediums of art in new ways. The Thorgate group has always focused on smart solutions that help make the world a better place, and given the goals of Tormis Virtual Center, we can create something that can be used by tens, if not hundreds, of other authors. This could be a legacy of Estonian culture to the rest of the world." The project manager of the Centre, Iti Teder, adds: "Veljo Tormis always wanted his creative heritage to be publicly available to everyone, the cooperation with Thorgate continues in this direction. Considering the Virtual Centre development began already in the lifetime of Veljo Tormis, the software originally used has had to be constantly updated. Currently, the most complicated part of the development plan is the Discography, where all information on all Tormis' music will become available. The immediate goal is to make the information easily searchable and findable. We are also working on the archive which consists of numerous publications related to Veljo Tormis, including hundreds of books, thousands of articles, interviews, program sheets, etc. The News Page and the Supporter's Section are under development, as well as the Runic Rong project Regilaul, which is led by renowned Estonian folk specialist Ants Johanson. A large part of the project is Tõnu Tormis's photo archive, which includes tens of thousands of photos accumulated over the years. Organizing this is an important step in the cultural history of Estonia because, in addition to the legacy of Veljo Tormis, the memories also include the composer's friends and colleagues. Additionally, the Center is also planning to create a virtual guest book, where people's experiences with Veljo Tormis's music and his persona will be gathered." The Veljo Tormis Virtual Centre ensures the collection, availability, preservation, dissemination, and promotion of Veljo Tormis' creative heritage. The project's nearest goals fall into the composer's 95th Anniversary, and "Tormis 100" in 2030. How to add your event? Open the events page and fill out the form with the event information.

Tormis' opera "Lalli" finished by Rasmus Puur premieres at Birgitta festival

This year, the Birgitta Festival will open with an opera started by Veljo Tormis in 1989 and completed by Rasmus Puur in 2022 at the request of Tõnu Kaljuste and Nargenfestival. Concert info and tickets are [HERE](https:www.filharmoonia.ee/en/birgitta/program/upcoming-performances/event/1317-tormis-puur-opera-lalli-or-there-is-a-man-in-the-middle-of-the-sea-world-premiere//).

Logo Contest Exhibition

Prior to the first opening of the Veljo Tormis Virtual Centre in 2020, the Veljo Tormis Cultural Society organized a logo competition to find a modern visual identity for the Virtual Center. A total of 63 works were submitted to the contest and the jury selected the artist Margus Tõnnov's logo design. The logo is based on a fragment of a visual soundtrack and, according to the jury, is powerful and minimalist. The members of the jury were Martin Aadamsoo (Digikultuur), the Veljo Tormis Cultural Center's Advisory Board, family members of the composer, and specialists in the field Atko Januson, Helene Vetik, and Marko Kekišev. See the logo contest exhibition [HERE]( https://veljotormis.com/en/galerii/?gallery=virtuaalkeskuse-logokonkursi-naitus).

Nargenfestival: Tormis 91

Veljo Tormis's 91st anniversary was dedicated to his work from 1967. The Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir started the 40th birthday season at the "Tormise tuules" festival on August 7 in Tallinn and August 8 in Viljandi. The concert programme included fine sub-cycles of "Estonian Calendar Songs". Photo by Rene Jakobson

In Memoriam: Jaan Kaplinski

Jaan Kaplinski (22.01.1941 – 08.08.2021)

Klassikaraadio interview with Ulvi Rand (in Estonian)

Ulvi Rand, Managing Director of the Veljo Tormise Virtual Center, visited the Klassikararadio studio to talk about the archiving of Tormis' creative heritage, the Tormis exhibition at the Kuusalu Community Center and the events of the composer's 91st birthday at Kõrveaia. Listen to the interview [HERE](https://klassikaraadio.err.ee/1608286053/suveduur-5-augustil-veljo-tormis-temufi-anti-marguste-90/1342731).